September in SYMVOLI is always a busy month, but also a very exciting one. This September included online and hybrid events, a press conference, a concert in the emblematic building of Rotunda and a creative project that awakened, even more, our cultural spirit.
QRMH8: online conference on mental health
An organization that initially would have travelled us to Malta, changed its form and became an online meeting dedicated to qualitative research on mental health. QRMH8, a two-year conference that SYMVOLI undertakes and supports since 2014, this year took place between 9-11 of September. The conference was jointly chaired by Angela Abela, University of Malta and Maria Borcsa, University of Applied Sciences Nordhausen in cooperation with national and international academics and professionals.
These three days were filled with presentations in a high functional online platform, which also allowed participants to connect in one-to-one meetings, arrange networking tables and match with colleagues with whom they shared same interests. Since a Gala Dinner was not an option for this conference, distance did not prevent the participants to virtually chink glasses during the Opening Ceremony. A Social Programme was included as well, with the screening of the film “SHIMSHAR” and an in-depth discussion between the writer and director of the movie Rebecca Cremona, with one of the conference’s chair, Angela Abela.
You can watch the recordings of the keynote speeches, parallel events and some conference highlights here.
ArXellence 2 Exhibition: reviving the western waterfront of Thessaloniki
Next in our calendar was the ArXellence 2 exhibition, the capstone of an international architectural ideas’ competition launched by ALUMIL. The exhibition took place in the Digital Transformation and Digital Skills Center (DT&S) – CISCO, between 11 to 26 of September 2021. SYMVOLI | Conference & Cultural Management undertook the exhibition’s production, organization, communication, and design of the parallel events.
The topic of the competition was the redesign of the western waterfront of Thessaloniki. The 1464 registrations from 90 countries and the 173 submitted proposals, constituted the final report of the competition. The exhibition of ArXellence 2 reflected the global character of ALUMIL’s initiative and presented to the visitor all the final architectural proposals from all over the world, regarding this important area of Thessaloniki.
In the ArXellence 2 exhibition, more than 1000 visitors who passed the entrance of DT&S-CISCO, had the opportunity to observe the displayed architectural proposals that were honored in the competition and listen to oral testimonies from professionals who are or have been active in the western part of the city. Moreover, they could scan the QR codes and vote in place for their favorite proposal from the ones that were distinguished or navigate through all the 173 architectural proposals in a specially designed space inside the exhibition and vote for their favorite.
Other parallel events organized by SYMVOLI, involved a photographic competition, which had as main topic the promotion of the western front of Thessaloniki, thematic walking tours in the western part of the city in collaboration with Thessaloniki Walking Tours and school visits at the exhibition.
Future is handmade in Greece: crafts as a lever for development
“Future is handmade in Greece” was a one-day conference about the Greek Crafts, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Ministry of Development and Investments, and MOMus Museum of Contemporary Art. It took place in a hybrid form on September 14th in the conference auditorium “Xanthippi Hoipel” at MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art. The audience could enjoy the presentations and interact through a live stream in the social media and YouTube channel of MOMus Museum of Contemporary Arts. The very interesting panel discussion was joined by experts in the study of Greek crafts, professionals in Greek craft making and representatives of the relative ministries.
You can watch the recording of the whole conference here.
ERT3 Channel: programme launch and concert by the ERT Ensemble
September for SYMVOLI’s events calendar closed with the programme launch of ERT3 channel and a concert in the emblematic building of Rotunda. ERT3 channel, which is part of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, presented in a press conference, that took place in the iconic Ciné Pavlos Zannas, its new television programme for 2021-2022 and introduced the audience to the new content of the digital platform (ΟΤΤ – over the top) Ertflix.
At night, a concert entitled “Breathing Voices” was conducted by the ERT Music Ensemble in the Rotunda of Thessaloniki. In the concert were presented ten choral works, by Greek and foreign composers from the Renaissance until today, based on poems. The concert was recorded, and it will be broadcasted soon by the national television.
SYMVOLI entered autumn in a vivid way, with high levels of adrenaline settling on our team’s office chairs. Autumn projects though don’t stop here. Stay tuned for a magnificent season closing.
